Thursday, August 25, 2005

Hammond to Canada

We were treated to a visit to Mount St. Helens following Rikki's relaunch after the repair. What an awesome sight it was, a beautiful day, and wonderful new friends to share it with us. The very enthusiastic Park Naturalist/Ranger has everyone in the crowd visualizing where the mountain's top used to be. Next leg of the journey– Hammond, Oregon, to Grays Harbor, Washington. The tight spot on the Grays Harbor Westport Marina transient dock between the red sailboat and the charter vessel "Hawk"– just a few feet to spare! As all marinas have been since leaving San Francisco, this is filled with commercial fishing and work boats. Like these... Three particularly ominous looking bottom-draggers in Westport, GraysHarbor. And for contrast, just across the way from Rikki-tikki, a fleet of plastic paddle boats await tourist renters. They resemble Dutch wooden shoes, don'tthey? Still at Westport Marina, up on the wharf, I spotted this pickup truck laden with floats for crab-pots. We wish the floats we had to dodge out there onthe ocean were as colorful– they'd be easier to spot! As we left Grays Harbor the following morning, the fog was so thick we couldn't see 50 feet– thank goodness for our radar and our recorded track onthe Garmin GPS! The fog lifted just barely off the water so we could snap this photo as we cleared the harbor entrance. The entrance to the Quillayute River at La Push, Washington, is tricky and tight. In a word– thrilling. Inside tiny Makah Marina at La Push, Rikki-tikki is in stark contrast to his "picturesque" surroundings. The fog lifted as we approached our long-sought-after goal of Cape Flattery, in the background on the right. The little island with the lighthouse on itis Tatoosh. We toasted our rounding of the Cape with wine. The sun came out in Port Angeles, Washington, after a thick fog plagued our journey eastward down The Strait. Rikki-tikki anchored off Hollywood Beach,which was covered with Makah dugout canoes. Port Angeles was host to the Makah "Journey to Elwah". These three canoes were tied to the side of a large fishing vessel. A literal jumble of large Makah canoes on the beach in front of the Red Lion Hotel. We missed the races. The Makah women performed dances wearing colorful black and red robes whilethe men drummed and sang. Darzee makes a new friend when Small Fry comes to visit. We enjoyed Ira's company aboard Rikki-tikki-tavi for the night. "Red sky at night, a sailor's delight," it is said. Tomorrow we cross the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Canada. August 4, Nina raises the Canadian flag to the starboard spreader as we warnings for The Strait, we had glassy smooth seas and sunny skies– aharbinger of the weather to come!

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